Service Tray Apparatus

ABSTRACT

An apparatus comprises a service tray comprising a top surface, a first side, a second side opposing the first side, and a housing being disposed beneath the top surface. The top surface is configured for transporting food and beverage items. A first drawer is configured to be retractable into the housing through an opening in the first side. The first drawer is further configured for retaining a plurality of items. A second drawer is configured to be retractable into the housing through an opening in the second side. The second drawer is further configured for retaining a plurality of items in which the service tray with the first drawer and the second drawer is balanced about a midline along a width of the service tray between the first drawer and the second drawer.

FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable.

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER LISTING APPENDIX

Not applicable.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialthat is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor patent disclosure as it appears in the Patent and Trademark Office,patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyright rightswhatsoever.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

One or more embodiments of the invention generally relate to foodservice equipment. More particularly, the invention relates to a servingtray with internal drawers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The following background information may present examples of specificaspects of the prior art (e.g., without limitation, approaches, facts,or common wisdom) that, while expected to be helpful to further educatethe reader as to additional aspects of the prior art, is not to beconstrued as limiting the present invention, or any embodiments thereof,to anything stated or implied therein or inferred thereupon. Servers inestablishments such as, but not limited to, bars, restaurants, andcasinos often carry many products at once on the same serving tray. Inaddition to this, servers often must collect money and make change forproducts sold. In general the collection of money must be done properlyand correctly to optimize profitability for an establishment.

By way of educational background, an aspect of the prior art generallyuseful to be aware of is that servers often carry currency on thesurface of a serving tray or in an empty glass on the serving tray.Alternatively, cash boxes may be placed on the surface of the servicetray to hold currency. Attachable cash drawers for serving trays arealso available to servers for holding currency.

In view of the foregoing, it is clear that these traditional techniquesare not perfect and leave room for more optimal approaches.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by wayof limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in whichlike reference numerals refer to similar elements and in which:

FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C illustrate an exemplary beverage service tray, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is a topperspective view. FIG. 1B is a partially transparent side view, and FIG.1C is a top perspective view of a drawer in an open position; and

FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C illustrate an exemplary service tray, in accordancewith an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a topperspective view with drawers in an open position. FIG. 2B is a sideperspective view of the tray with a drawer in an open position andbeverages on a serving surface, and FIG. 2C is a bottom perspective viewof the tray with a drawer in an open position.

Unless otherwise indicated illustrations in the figures are notnecessarily drawn to scale.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is best understood by reference to the detailedfigures and description set forth herein.

Embodiments of the invention are discussed below with reference to theFigures. However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate thatthe detailed description given herein with respect to these figures isfor explanatory purposes as the invention extends beyond these limitedembodiments. For example, it should be appreciated that those skilled inthe art will, in light of the teachings of the present invention,recognize a multiplicity of alternate and suitable approaches, dependingupon the needs of the particular application, to implement thefunctionality of any given detail described herein, beyond theparticular implementation choices in the following embodiments describedand shown. That is, there are numerous modifications and variations ofthe invention that are too numerous to be listed but that all fit withinthe scope of the invention. Also, singular words should be read asplural and vice versa and masculine as feminine and vice versa, whereappropriate, and alternative embodiments do not necessarily imply thatthe two are mutually exclusive.

It is to be further understood that the present invention is not limitedto the particular methodology, compounds, materials, manufacturingtechniques, uses, and applications, described herein, as these may vary.It is also to be understood that the terminology used herein is used forthe purpose of describing particular embodiments only, and is notintended to limit the scope of the present invention. It must be notedthat as used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a,”“an,” and “the” include the plural reference unless the context clearlydictates otherwise. Thus, for example, a reference to “an element” is areference to one or more elements and includes equivalents thereof knownto those skilled in the art. Similarly, for another example, a referenceto “a step” or “a means” is a reference to one or more steps or meansand may include sub-steps and subservient means. All conjunctions usedare to be understood in the most inclusive sense possible. Thus, theword “or” should be understood as having the definition of a logical“or” rather than that of a logical “exclusive or” unless the contextclearly necessitates otherwise. Structures described herein are to beunderstood also to refer to functional equivalents of such structures.Language that may be construed to express approximation should be sounderstood unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skillin the art to which this invention belongs. Preferred methods,techniques, devices, and materials are described, although any methods,techniques, devices, or materials similar or equivalent to thosedescribed herein may be used in the practice or testing of the presentinvention. Structures described herein are to be understood also torefer to functional equivalents of such structures. The presentinvention will now be described in detail with reference to embodimentsthereof as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

From reading the present disclosure, other variations and modificationswill be apparent to persons skilled in the art. Such variations andmodifications may involve equivalent and other features which arealready known in the art, and which may be used instead of or inaddition to features already described herein.

Although Claims have been formulated in this application to particularcombinations of features, it should be understood that the scope of thedisclosure of the present invention also includes any novel feature orany novel combination of features disclosed herein either explicitly orimplicitly or any generalization thereof, whether or not it relates tothe same invention as presently claimed in any Claim and whether or notit mitigates any or all of the same technical problems as does thepresent invention.

Features which are described in the context of separate embodiments mayalso be provided in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely,various features which are, for brevity, described in the context of asingle embodiment, may also be provided separately or in any suitablesubcombination. The Applicants hereby give notice that new Claims may beformulated to such features and/or combinations of such features duringthe prosecution of the present application or of any further applicationderived therefrom.

References to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “example embodiment,”“various embodiments,” etc., may indicate that the embodiment(s) of theinvention so described may include a particular feature, structure, orcharacteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes theparticular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, repeated useof the phrase “in one embodiment,” or “in an exemplary embodiment,” donot necessarily refer to the same embodiment, although they may.

As is well known to those skilled in the art many careful considerationsand compromises typically must be made when designing for the optimalmanufacture of a commercial implementation any system, and inparticular, the embodiments of the present invention. A commercialimplementation in accordance with the spirit and teachings of thepresent invention may configured according to the needs of theparticular application, whereby any aspect(s), feature(s), function(s),result(s), component(s), approach(es), or step(s) of the teachingsrelated to any described embodiment of the present invention may besuitably omitted, included, adapted, mixed and matched, or improvedand/or optimized by those skilled in the art, using their average skillsand known techniques, to achieve the desired implementation thataddresses the needs of the particular application.

It is to be understood that any exact measurements/dimensions orparticular construction materials indicated herein are solely providedas examples of suitable configurations and are not intended to belimiting in any way. Depending on the needs of the particularapplication, those skilled in the art will readily recognize, in lightof the following teachings, a multiplicity of suitable alternativeimplementation details.

A practical embodiment of the present invention provides a beverageservice tray with two (2) retractable currency drawers in a housing.Carrying and exchanging cash for food and beverages can be difficult forservers due to the limited lighting typically provided in theseenvironments and the limited space on top of serving trays. Bills andcoins stacked upon a tray often become disorganized, are not properlystored to generally ensure accurate transaction amounts, and can easilyfall from or be stolen from trays and wind up completely lost. Beveragescan also spill upon money collected on top of serving trays, and barsand restaurants wind up having to hold this money until it is cleanedand dried, thus limiting cash flow and requiring more cash on hand tooperate efficiently. Some currently available trays feature cash boxesfor currency exchange; however, these boxes limit the storage space ontop of the trays, thus reducing the number of products that may becarried on the trays. Also, currency is often stored in bulk in theseboxes and cannot be properly organized to aid in correct and balancedtransactions. Furthermore, these cash boxes can offset the balance ofthe trays, making spillage of beverages a risk, which is also a typicalproblem with currently available attachable cash drawers since thesedrawers are mounted to one side of the trays.

FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C illustrate an exemplary beverage service tray 100,in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1A is atop perspective view. FIG. 1B is a partially transparent side view, andFIG. 1C is a top perspective view of a drawer 103 in an open position.In the present embodiment, beverage service tray 100 comprises tworetractable drawers 103 located at opposite ends within a housing 105 ofservice tray 100. Referring to FIGS. 1B and 1C, drawers 103 comprisecurrency compartments 107 and elevating lids 109. Housing 105 is made ofa durable polypropylene material in a fourteen-inch by twenty-inch(14″×20″) rectangular shape and is one-and-one-half-inch (1½″) inheight. Drawers 103 are also made of a polypropylene material. In somealternate embodiments, the housing and the drawers of the tray can bemade of various different applicable materials, including but notlimited to fiberglass, polycarbonate, stainless steel, aluminum, etc.Furthermore, in some alternate embodiments, trays can be produced indifferent sizes and shapes. In the present embodiment, the top-surfaceperimeter of housing 105 features a raised wall 111 that isone-half-inch (½″) in height. In some alternate embodiments, the wallsurrounding the top of the tray can be of various different heights, andthis wall may or may not be reinforced with a durable material such as,but not limited to, various plastics like high-density polyethylene(HDPE), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and rigid polyvinylchloride (PVC), and various rubber materials. Other alternateembodiments may be implemented without a wall. In the presentembodiment, a serving surface 113 is textured to enhance contact grip ofany contents upon surface 113. In some alternate embodiments, theserving surface can include, without limitation, a frictional materialsuch as but not limited to cork, rubber, or soft neoprene with thepurpose of securing the placement of contents upon the tray. Somealternate embodiments may also include, without limitation, cylindricalrecesses or recesses in different shapes upon the serving surface forthe improved containment of cups, glasses and bottles with lesser riskof spillage.

In the present embodiment, tray 100 comprises two drawers 103; however,some alternate embodiments may be implemented with more or fewerdrawers. Referring to FIG. 1B, in the present embodiment, retractabledrawers 103 are accessible by push release, in which the depression ofdrawers 103 releases the hold of an interior spring-loaded mechanism115, which enables drawer 103 to slide horizontally away from housing105. In some alternate embodiments the drawers may be secured by andmove using various different means, including but not limited topush-button release, a securing latch, manual withdrawal, etc. In somealternate embodiments, the drawer may also feature a lock device for thesecurity of its contents. Referring to FIGS. 1B and 1C, currencycompartments 107 are walled compartments for the containment of papercurrency and coin currency. It is contemplated that various differentnumbers of compartments for the containment of paper currency carryingdifferent denominations may be used, as well as various differentnumbers of compartments for the containment of coinage. Currencycompartments 107 may also be used to hold items other than currency suchas, but not limited to, credit card receipts, tooth picks, straws,matchbooks, pens, pencils, etc. In the present embodiment, currencycompartments 107 are permanently attached to drawer 103; however, insome alternate embodiments the compartments may be part of a currencytray that can be removed from the drawer or may be individuallyremovable. Other alternate embodiments may be implemented without suchinterior compartments within the retractable drawers for the separationof currency. Referring to FIG. 1C, in the present embodiment, elevatinglids 109 are attached to drawers 103 by two-pieced retractable axles117, each made of stainless steel or another type of metal. Lids 109cover approximately two-thirds (⅔) of the horizontal planes of drawers103 when levelly applied. Those skilled in the art, in light of theteachings of the present invention, will readily recognize that somealternate embodiments may comprise various different means for attachingthe lids to the drawers such as, but not limited to, hinges or slidingthe lids onto the drawers. Other alternate embodiments may beimplemented without lids covering the drawers.

In typical use of the present embodiment, beverages and serving itemscan be stored upon serving surface 113 of tray 100 with no spatialinterference from other objects or devices such as, but not limited to,currency or cash boxes. Drawers 103 allow for the collection of tips andpayment while keeping money off of serving surface 113 and out of siteof patrons. Drawers 103 keep currency safe and secure and leave morespace on tray 100 for drinks and food. When an exchange of currency isneeded, a user may depress one of drawers 103 releasing securingspring-loaded mechanism 115 to enable drawer 103 to slide out to provideaccess to currency within currency compartments 107. Upon extraction ofretractable drawer 103, retractable axles 117 holding lid 109 extendupward to expose the contents of drawer 103 to the user yet block thevisibility of the currency to patrons. When access to the currencywithin retractable drawer 103 is no longer needed, the user may pushdrawer 103 back within housing 105 of tray 100. By pushing drawer 103into a closed position, retractable axles 115 of lid 109 are pulledclosed to allow for complete insertion of drawer 103 within housing 105.The spring is mounted on a shaft, and the shaft is connected to theaxles of the lid, they are connected in a fashion that resembles a balljoint. When the lid is opening the shaft pushes upon the axle causing itto rotate one way and the lid to open. When the drawer is closed theshaft pulls on the axle causing it to rotate in the opposite directionwhich causes the lid to close.

Service tray 100 can safely secure currency exchanged in beverageservice. Service tray 100 can also generally prevent accidental beveragespillage upon currency and generally prevent interruption of the flow ofcurrency interchanged in its using environment. Elevating lid 109 ofdrawer 103 shields visibility of the currency carried by beverageservers, which can reduce a primary impetus of theft upon its users. Bycontaining collected currency in retractable drawers 103, service tray100 helps to generally prevent accidental loss of currency and providesproper organization of currency to help maintain accuracy in currencytransactions.

Unlike attachable cash drawers currently used upon some beverage servicetrays, service tray 100 maintains the currency carried by beverageservers in a separate, secure and maintained compartment withoutaffecting the balance of the contents and typically avoids spillage. Byavoiding such spillage, service tray 100 also generally prevents theaccidental spillage of collected fluids within the tray on customers andon servers. By not having a cash drawer maintained on the servingsurface area, the serving capacity of service tray 100 is not affectedor reduced, enabling beverage servers to carry more drinks at one time.This can improve the speed and efficiency of beverage service to allowan establishment to achieve desired service with fewer laborers andimprove the overall quality of service within the establishment.Improved service can help beverage servers improve their volume andpercentage of gratuities and can improve the consumer perception of theestablishment.

FIGS. 2A, 2B and 2C illustrate an exemplary service tray 200, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a topperspective view with drawers 203 in an open position. FIG. 2B is a sideperspective view of tray 200 with a drawer 203 in an open position andbeverages 205 on a serving surface 207, and FIG. 2C is a bottomperspective view of tray 200 with drawer 203 in an open position. In thepresent embodiment, service tray 200 comprises a channel 209 upon thebottom plane centrally located between retractable drawers 203 runningthe width of tray 200. The interior surface area of channel 209 is linedwith a lightweight padding; however, channels in some alternateembodiments may not include padding. Furthermore, the channels in somealternate embodiments may be shaped differently; for example, withoutlimitation, in some alternate embodiments the channel may besemicircular or have rounded edges.

In typical use of the present embodiment, tray 200 can be rested on theforearm of a user at channel 209. Channel 209 helps to provide balanceand stability to tray 200 by cradling the arm of the user. Carrying tray200 in this way, enables the user to use more muscles to support tray200, which means the user can carry a heavier load longer and morecomfortably. Channel 209 also provides a way for the user to rest tray200 on their leg should they have their foot propped up on a chair orbench.

Those skilled in the art, in light of the teachings of the presentinvention, will readily recognize that some alternate embodiments maycomprise additional or different features such as, but not limited to,lighting, clips for holding paper items, built-in calculators, notepads,attached writing utensils, etc. In some alternate embodiments, thedrawers can be retractable and accessible from any side of the housingof the tray. In other alternate embodiments, the drawer isnon-retractable and accessible from a lid found in the top-surface ofthe tray. These embodiments may comprise one drawer and lid or multipledrawers and lids. Furthermore, some alternate embodiments may be used tocarry items other than beverages including, without limitation, food,dishes, tobacco products, reading materials, souvenirs, etc.

All the features disclosed in this specification, including anyaccompanying abstract and drawings, may be replaced by alternativefeatures serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unlessexpressly stated otherwise. Thus, unless expressly stated otherwise,each feature disclosed is one example only of a generic series ofequivalent or similar features.

Having fully described at least one embodiment of the present invention,other equivalent or alternative methods of providing a serving tray withmeans for containing currency according to the present invention will beapparent to those skilled in the art. The invention has been describedabove by way of illustration, and the specific embodiments disclosed arenot intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed.For example, the particular implementation of the drawers may varydepending upon the particular type of opening and closing mechanismused. The drawers described in the foregoing were directed tospring-loaded implementations; however, similar techniques are toprovide drawers that open and close using various different means suchas, but not limited to, drawers with handles or knobs that slidemanually or drawers with rollers that roll along tracks.Non-spring-loaded implementations of the present invention arecontemplated as within the scope of the present invention. The inventionis thus to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternativesfalling within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

Claim elements and steps herein may have been numbered and/or letteredsolely as an aid in readability and understanding. Any such numberingand lettering in itself is not intended to and should not be taken toindicate the ordering of elements and/or steps in the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus comprising: a service traycomprising a top surface, a first side, a second side opposing saidfirst side, and a housing being disposed beneath said top surface, saidtop surface being configured for transporting food and beverage items; afirst drawer being configured to be retractable into said housingthrough an opening in said first side, said first drawer being furtherconfigured for retaining a plurality of items; and a second drawer beingconfigured to be retractable into said housing through an opening insaid second side, said second drawer being further configured forretaining a plurality of items in which said service tray with saidfirst drawer and said second drawer is balanced about a midline along awidth of said service tray between said first drawer and said seconddrawer.
 2. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, in which said housingfurther comprises a channel about said midline, said channel beingconfigured to rest on a forearm of a user.
 3. The apparatus as recitedin claim 3, in which a surface of said channel comprises a padding. 4.The apparatus as recited in claim 1, in which said top surface comprisesa raised wall about a perimeter of said top surface.
 5. The apparatus asrecited in claim 1, in which said top surface comprises a texturedsurface for gripping items placed thereupon.
 6. The apparatus as recitedin claim 1, further comprising: a first spring-loaded mechanism forsecuring said first drawer within said housing; and a secondspring-loaded mechanism for securing said second drawer within saidhousing.
 7. The apparatus as recited in claim 6, in which said firstspring-loaded mechanism and said second spring-loaded mechanism eachbeing configured to release their respective drawer from within saidhousing by a depression of said drawer.
 8. The apparatus as recited inclaim 7, in which said first spring-loaded mechanism and said secondspring-loaded mechanism each being further configured to urge theirrespective drawer out from within said housing upon release of saiddrawer.
 9. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, in which said firstdrawer and said second drawer each comprise compartments for segregatingitems placed therein.
 10. The apparatus as recited in claim 1, furthercomprising: a first lid being hingeably joined to said first drawer forcovering a portion of a top of said first drawer; and a second lid beinghingeably joined to said second drawer for covering a portion of a topof said second drawer.
 11. The apparatus as recited in claim 10, furthercomprising: a first retractable axle for joining said first lid to saidfirst drawer; and a second retractable axle for joining said second lidto said second drawer.
 12. The apparatus as recited in claim 11, inwhich said first retractable axle and said second retractable axle eachbeing configured to extend to hold their respective lid in an openposition upon their respective drawer being extended from said housing.13. The apparatus as recited in claim 12, in which said firstretractable axle and said second retractable axle each being furtherconfigured to retrace to hold their respective lid in an closed positionupon their respective drawer being retracted into said housing.
 14. Theapparatus as recited in claim, in which said service tray furthercomprises a rectangular shape.
 15. The apparatus as recited in claim, inwhich said first drawer and said second drawer being further configuredto retain currency.
 16. An apparatus comprising: means for transportingfood and beverage items and for housing items; first segregating meansfor segregating items placed therein, said first segregating means beingconfigured to be retractable into said transporting and housing means;first securing means for securing said first segregating means withinsaid transporting and housing means and for releasing and urging saidfirst segregating means from within said transporting and housing means;first covering means for covering a portion of a top of said firstsegregating means; first retractable means for holding said firstcovering means in an open position upon said first segregating meansbeing extended from said transporting and housing means and to hold saidfirst covering means in an closed position upon said first segregatingmeans being retracted into said transporting and housing means; secondsegregating means for segregating items placed therein, said secondsegregating means being configured to be retractable into saidtransporting and housing means; second securing means for securing saidsecond segregating means within said transporting and housing means andfor releasing and urging said second segregating means from within saidtransporting and housing means; second covering means for covering aportion of a top of said second segregating means; and secondretractable means for holding said second covering means in an openposition upon said second segregating means being extended from saidtransporting and housing means and to hold said second covering means inan closed position upon said second segregating means being retractedinto said transporting and housing means.
 17. The apparatus as recitedin claim 16, further comprising means for resting the apparatus on aforearm of a user in which the apparatus is balanced.
 18. An apparatuscomprising: a service tray comprising a top surface, a first side, asecond side opposing said first side, and a housing being disposedbeneath said top surface, said top surface comprising a raised wallabout a perimeter of said top surface and a textured surface forgripping items placed thereupon, said top surface being configured fortransporting food and beverage items; a first drawer being configured tobe retractable into said housing through an opening in said first side,said first drawer comprising compartments for segregating items placedtherein; a first spring-loaded mechanism for securing said first drawerwithin said housing, said first spring-loaded mechanism being configuredto release said first drawer from within said housing by a depression ofsaid first drawer and urge the first drawer out from within said housingupon release of said first drawer; a first lid being hingeably joined tosaid first drawer for covering a portion of a top of said first drawer;a first retractable axle for joining said first lid to said firstdrawer, said first retractable axle being configured to extend to holdsaid first lid in an open position upon said first drawer being extendedfrom said housing and to hold said first lid in an closed position uponsaid first drawer being retracted into said housing; a second drawerbeing configured to be retractable into said housing through an openingin said second side, said second drawer comprising compartments forsegregating items placed therein; a second spring-loaded mechanism forsecuring said second drawer within said housing, said secondspring-loaded mechanism being configured to release said second drawerfrom within said housing by a depression of said second drawer and urgethe second drawer out from within said housing upon release of saidsecond drawer; a second lid being hingeably joined to said second drawerfor covering a portion of a top of said second drawer; a secondretractable axle for joining said second lid to said second drawer, saidsecond retractable axle being configured to extend to hold said secondlid in an open position upon said second drawer being extended from saidhousing and to hold said second lid in an closed position upon saidsecond drawer being retracted into said housing; and a channel disposedabout a midline along a width of said service tray between said firstdrawer and said second drawer, said channel comprising a padding andbeing configured to rest on a forearm of a user in which the apparatusis balanced.
 19. The apparatus as recited in claim 18, in which saidservice tray further comprises a rectangular shape.
 20. The apparatus asrecited in claim 18, in which said first drawer and said second drawerbeing further configured to retain currency.